2017’s Most Unexpected Event Technology to Watch

Event technology! Just when you think you’ve understood it all a whole new trend appears and changes everything. Again.

Struggling to keep up? Never fear – Team Noodle Live are here. We create bespoke event tech packages to help #EventProfs make their events more streamlined and user friendly and to help them gather really interesting data about what their delegates got up to. We spend hours scanning the tech news and looking for new trends and products that could make our tech even better. Here are the top 5 trends we’ll be keeping an eye on in 2017.

Personalisation

Delegates love personalised experiences. We’ve offered personal welcome messages and updates via our registration services and mobile app for years, but recent improvements in tech such as facial recognition and biometric readings have allowed #EventProfs to experiment. That’s great news for experiential events, and it’s being used in some really cool ways. Meantime Beer recently launched a Meantime Bespoke – a service that claims to use DNA testing to map personal tastes and create a unique beer to suit your personality. Meanwhile, Ebay set up product booths that allowed users to search Ebay listings. They then used biometric data including body language and facial expression to determine the products that users liked the most.

Gesture Control

Gesture control was one of those tech innovations that got hugely overlooked the first time around. The Xbox Kinect was about as far as it got. In 2017 gesture control technology is likely to return in some really useful iterations. Apple have already added ‘raise to wake’ technology to the iPhone, allowing users to turn on their phone simply by picking it up. Amazon have also been looking at ways to add gesture control to the Echo, so you could communicate with Alexa simply by waving or gesturing towards her rather than speaking. In the world of events we are likely to see presentation software that incorporates gesture control, so speakers will be able to move to new slides and control presentations through their movements.

3D Printing

3D printers are similar to traditional printers, except they allow you to design and print 3D objects rather than printing on paper. Fancy creating a bespoke toy aeroplane? Simply draw it using specialist online software and hit print. Your 3D printer will create it for you. This great video gives more information on how it works. 3D printing isn’t new, but in 2017 it will reach a critical point at which it is both cheap enough and small enough to begin reaching more people. At less than £1,000 individuals and businesses may soon be able to own their own 3D printer, so anyone with a good idea can start manufacturing products. For #EventProfs this could be a game changer. Thought of a great idea for a table decoration? No need to get it designed by an expensive design agency. Just draw it up and print it out.

NFC & RFID

Don’t panic. The acronyms sound scary but don’t worry – you’re probably already familiar with RFID & NFC. It’s the tech that makes your Oyster card and contactless payment card work. It’s a tiny chip which stores information, a bit like a hard drive or microchip. The main difference is that NFC & RFID chips can send that information to a reading device simply by being held close to it – so you get to tap and go. At most events you will be asked to prove your identity on a regular basis. Remote tech can help you to do that simply by swiping your badge. We already use RFID and NFC in our event tech at Noodle Live, but we’re expecting this tech to become a lot more prevalent in the coming months. As an added benefit, remote tech also provides you with loads of useful information about who checked in, what sessions they attended and which exhibitors they interacted with. Perfect for post-event communications.

Clemi Hardie founded event tech company Noodle Live in January 2013. Offering event technology solutions and consultancy and using what they believe to be the best tools for the job, Clemi spends a lot of time researching the latest tech trends and innovations, looking for new solutions that will make life easier for #EventProfs and their delegates.

Clemi Hardie founded event tech company Noodle Live in January 2013. Offering event technology solutions and consultancy and using what they believe to be the best tools for the job, Clemi spends a lot of time researching the latest tech trends and innovations, looking for new solutions that will make life easier for #EventProfs and their delegates. View Clemi on Linked In